Elon Musk Was the GOP’s Missing Link

Republicans built their strategy around a billionaire who didn’t show up — and paid the price.

Welcome back to The Red Letter.

Yes, the overwhelming lesson from last night is that a disciplined affordability message can carry the day in a time of sky-high inflation and cost of living. But Republican operatives are privately telling me it was more than that. The party didn’t just lose elections, it lost its infrastructure. And that was apparent in the wide margins of defeat.

Over the past 24 hours, I’ve spoken with GOP strategists, operatives, and campaign veterans, and nearly all pointed to the same problem: Republicans no longer have a ground game. The vaunted door-to-door operation that once turned out the base fueled by Elon Musk’s money. Scott Presler organizing muscle couldn’t compensate for Musk’s absence.

“We will lose every close race in 2026 if we don’t have a ground game,” one former Republican National Committee operative told me. “[Musk] was the ground game last cycle. No one had a more robust operation.”

Last year, Musk bankrolled an unconventional voter-contact push — a mix of door-knocking, canvassing, and digital micro-targeting that energized low-propensity Trump voters in key swing states. This cycle, he stayed on the sidelines, and some say it showed.

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• 💰 The real impact of Elon Musk pulling his money

• 🗳️ Why Steve Bannon fears GOP leaders aren’t taking the losses seriously enough

• 🔍 My private conversations with GOP operatives on what they need to change before next cycle to avoid seismic losses